We covered the .22 TCM round when it was first introduced in a handgun by RIA / Armscor, and it kinda made sense. A zippy .22 caliber round coming out of a handgun can be useful, which is why FN likes their funky 5.7 caliber thingers. But after a full year of it being out there, no one else has picked up the round for production in another firearm. I had assumed that the round had simply died a quiet and dignified death, but apparently I was wrong. Now Armscor is about to introduce a bolt action rifle chambered for .22 TCM . . .
Some of you may be drawing a comparison with 300 BLK, another new caliber that some people here (read: me) have become a little enamored with. And while it’s true that both are new, the 300 BLK actually had a legitimate use case and some nifty features to speak for it. This thing, not so much.
Especially out of a bolt action rifle, .22 TCM doesn’t really figure. It makes sense for a handgun, since that cartridge fits nicely in the grip of a 1911, but when you have already made the decision to go with a full length rifle, why handicap yourself with a smaller case length and hard to find caliber? If you’re wanting a zippy smaller rifle round, then .243 Win is what you should be using.
Armscor will be making these available for sale sometime in July, according to their Facebook page. But I expect this caliber to go the way of the EtronX system before then.